Predictive spectral allocation in mobile networks

ABSTRACT

Technologies are generally described for discerning patterns in the “goodness” or “badness” of time-frequency slots to allow predictive allocation of spectral resources that may be appropriate for a wireless user. According to some examples, information on device location, time slots, sub-carrier(s) allotted for each time slot, and quality indicators may be received from mobile devices. The time slots may be grouped by location to form analysis intervals. A time-frequency vector may then be identified for each analysis interval and a unit of geographic grid. A “goodness” indicator may be computed for each time-frequency vector. Clusters of time-frequency vectors may be categorized for each analysis interval and associated unit of geographic grid such that mobile devices can be assigned “good” clusters through sub-carrier allocation.

BACKGROUND

This application claims priority from Application No. 1349/CHE/2013,filed on Mar. 26, 2013.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in thissection are not prior art to the claims in this application and are notadmitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

Transmission from a base-station to a mobile device may be spread acrossin time and frequency using a spreading technique, such as orthogonalfrequency division multiple access (OFDMA). A spreading technique may beused in many modern mobile standards, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE),assigning time and frequency slots to individual user devices.

A “good” time-frequency region for one wireless user may be unsuitablefor another. For example, a user may experience high interference incertain frequency slots at a certain time of day, or perhaps the user'smulti-path profile may be such that at the user's current location, somefrequency slots may provide better signal-to-noise performance. In thiscase, communication between the base-station and the wireless user maynot use the former frequency slots and may utilize the latter frequencyslots.

Optimal regions of time-frequency space for a given user may be able tobe determined ahead of time. After all, similar patterns in everydaylife may be detected for users. For example, many drivers may know thevehicular traffic pattern in their localities and may know whichfreeways and/or back-routes to use at which times. Further they may alsorecognize patterns of when traffic may be slower and at those timesavoid certain routes, such as the route passing a stadium during anannual football match.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure generally describes methods, apparatus, systems,devices, and/or computer program products for performing predictivespectral allocation in mobile networks.

In some examples, various methods for employing predictive spectralallocation in wireless networks may be described. Example methods mayinclude receiving a request for sub-carrier allocation from a mobiledevice, the request including a timestamp and a location of the mobiledevice and identifying a good cluster based on the timestamp and thelocation. The methods may also include selecting a time-frequency vectorfrom the “good” cluster and transmitting sub-carrier allocationinformation to the mobile device, where the sub-carrier allocationinformation is based on the time-frequency vector.

In other examples, a controller for a wireless network configured toemploy predictive spectral allocation may be described. The controllermay include a communication module for communicating with a plurality ofmobile devices over a wireless network. The controller may also includea processor coupled to the communication module. The processor may beconfigured to receive a request for sub-carrier allocation from a mobiledevice, the request including a timestamp and a location of the mobiledevice. The processor may also be configured to identify a good clusterbased on the timestamp and the location, select a time-frequency vectorfrom the “good” cluster, and transmit sub-carrier allocation informationto the mobile device based on the time-frequency vector.

In further examples, a method for analyzing sub-carrier allocation datato categorize clusters for predictive spectral allocation in wirelessnetworks may be described. The method may include receiving informationon device location, time slots, sub-carrier(s) allotted for each timeslot, and quality indicators from a plurality of mobile devices;grouping the time slots to form analysis intervals; and identifying atime-frequency vector for each analysis interval, where thetime-frequency vector associates the analysis interval with the devicelocation. The method may also include computing a goodness indicator foreach time-frequency vector; identifying clusters of time-frequencyvectors; and categorizing the clusters of time-frequency vectors intotwo or more categories.

In yet other examples, an analysis server for analyzing sub-carrierallocation data to categorize clusters for predictive spectralallocation in wireless networks may be described. The analysis servermay include a memory configured to store instructions and a processorcoupled to the memory. The processor may be configured to receiveinformation on device location, time slots, sub-carrier(s) allotted foreach time slot, and quality indicators from a plurality of mobiledevices; group the time slots by location to form analysis intervals;and identify a time-frequency vector for each analysis interval, wherethe time-frequency vector associates the analysis interval with thedevice location. The processor may also be configured to compute agoodness indicator for each time-frequency vector; identify clusters oftime-frequency vectors; and categorize clusters of time-frequencyvectors into two or more categories.

In yet further examples, a computer-readable storage medium may bedescribed with instructions stored thereon for employing predictivespectral allocation in wireless networks, analyzing sub-carrierallocation data to categorize clusters for predictive spectralallocation in wireless networks, and the instructions causing one ormore methods to be performed when executed. The methods may be similarto the methods described above.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be inany way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments,and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and featureswill become apparent by reference to the drawings and the followingdetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The below described and other features of this disclosure will becomemore fully apparent from the following description and appended claims,taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding thatthese drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with thedisclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of itsscope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity anddetail through use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates two cells of an example cellular communicationsystem, where predictive spectral allocation using support vectormachines may be employed;

FIG. 2A illustrates an example spectral allocation where shaded slotsrepresent spectral allotments for particular users;

FIG. 2B illustrates example spectral allocation analyses performed forvarious locations of mobile users;

FIG. 3A illustrates the labeling convention for spectral allotments;

FIG. 3B illustrates an example transformation of a time-frequency slotto a vector;

FIG. 4 illustrates a general purpose computing device, which may be usedto implement predictive spectral allocation in wireless networks usingsupport vector machines;

FIG. 5 illustrates a special purpose processor, which may be used toimplement predictive spectral allocation in wireless networks usingsupport vector machines;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of instructions on a computer-readable mediumillustrating an example method for analyzing sub-carrier allocation datato categorize clusters for predictive spectral allocation in wirelessnetworks that may be performed by a computing device such as thecomputing device in FIG. 4 or the special purpose processor of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of instructions on a computer-readable mediumillustrating an example method for employing predictive spectralallocation in wireless networks using support vector machines that maybe performed by a computing device such as the computing device in FIG.4 or the special purpose processor of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer programproduct for implementing predictive spectral allocation in wirelessnetworks using support vector machines; all arranged in accordance withat least some embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings,similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless contextdictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in thedetailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made,without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matterpresented herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of thepresent disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated inthe Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, anddesigned in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which areexplicitly contemplated herein.

This disclosure is generally drawn, inter alia, to methods, apparatus,systems, devices, and/or computer program products related to performingpredictive spectral allocation in mobile networks.

Briefly stated, patterns in the “goodness” or “badness” oftime-frequency slots may be discerned to allow predictive allocation ofspectral resources that may be appropriate for a wireless user.According to some examples, information on device location, time slots,sub-carrier(s) allotted for each time slot, and quality indicators maybe received from mobile devices. The time slots may be grouped bylocation to form analysis intervals. A time-frequency vector may then beidentified for each analysis interval and a unit of geographic grid. A“goodness” indicator may be computed for each time-frequency vector.Clusters of time-frequency vectors may be categorized for each analysisinterval and associated unit of geographic grid such that mobile devicescan be assigned “good” clusters through sub-carrier allocation.

FIG. 1 illustrates two cells of an example cellular communicationsystem, where predictive spectral allocation using support vectormachines may be employed, arranged in accordance with at least someembodiments described herein.

Some wireless communication networks, specifically cellularcommunication systems employ “cells” as the network infrastructure. Eachcell is typically served by a base station that enables end user devices(EUs), in this case mobile devices, to communicate wirelessly with otherEUs within the same cell, in other cells, and in other systems. As shownin a diagram 100, a geographic area of a wireless network may be dividedinto two neighboring cells, cell 1 102 and cell 2 104. Cell 1 102 may beserved by a base station (BTS) 106 and may include end user devices 108,110, 114, and 116. Cell 2 104, may be served by a base station 118 andmay include end user devices 120 and 122.

In some scenarios, a relay device 112 may be employed to facilitatecommunication between one or more EUs (e.g., EUs 114 and 116) and theirbase station (e.g., BTS 106). For example, when the wireless signal isweak in a particular location due to interference, geographic structure,manmade obstructions, etc., a relay device may assist in establishing areliable link between the base station and the EUs.

A wireless network may be one of an Evolved Universal MobileTelecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access Network (eUTRAN), along term evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced network, a high speedpacket access (HSPA) network, or an HSPA-Advanced network. A mobiledevice may include one of a cellular phone, a smart phone, a computingdevice equipped with cellular communication capability, or a specializeddevice equipped with cellular communication capability. Furthermore, awireless communication technology between a base station and a mobiledevice may utilize one of frequency division multiple access (FDMA),orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or a narrow bandallocation technology. The wireless communication between a base stationand a mobile device may be subject to degradation arising out ofinterference from other users, frequency selectivity of the radiochannel, and fading of the radio channel. It may be desirable to usetime-frequency slots that provide highest quality for communication. Forexample, those time-frequency slots that may be least corrupted byinterference or fading, and enjoying a frequency-selectivity peak.Interference may arise out of the activity of neighboring base-stationsand users. However, the activity alone may not be used to indicate thatinterference may be high at a certain sub-carrier and low at another fora particular mobile's location. Likewise, the frequency selectivity maybe dependent on the multipath profile and hence the local geography, butthe dependence may not indicate which sub-carrier may have a high SNR,because the multipath profile faced by a particular mobile device maynot be known. Fading may be an even more complex phenomenon depending onthe speed of change of multipath.

Therefore, a physical model predicting any of the above parameters maybe difficult to construct. A statistical model may be able to predictparameters. A pattern to interference may exist. For example, mobileusage may be high in downtown during rush hour. Downtown base-stationsmay be “stomping” on the residential condominiums across the riverduring rush hour. However, there may be a “good” spot in thecondominiums' park, which may be somehow shielded from interference, butmaybe only in certain frequency slots. Overall, there may be a time- andposition-dependent pattern to the variation in channel conditions.

By exploiting long-term patterns in channel conditions, call quality mayimprove as the chance of assigning a user to frequency-slots that aresuited for the user increases. There may be less frequent re-allocationof frequency-slots, as the ones allotted at the beginning of an analysisinterval may be historically successful ones. Less frequentre-allocation may reduce the downlink control bits that may be used tomove users around and may reduce an expensive overhead on downlinkbandwidth.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example spectral allocation where shaded slotsrepresent spectral allotments for particular users, arranged inaccordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

As shown in a diagram 200, time 232 may be plotted against frequency 234within a mobile network to define a time-frequency slot. A 24-hour daymay be divided into five-second analysis intervals 238 to represent timeand an available bandwidth 236 of the network may be divided intoavailable frequencies or channels forming grid cells representingavailable time-frequency slots that can be allocated to mobile devices.Shaded slots 240 may represent spectral allotments for a given user,each associated with a “goodness” indicator value for that particulartime-frequency slot.

For example, a single-carrier LTE deployment may have a time unit of onemillisecond and roughly 1000 possible frequency slots. Therefore, onefive-second analysis interval may include about five milliontime-frequency slots. A user may receive a small fraction, approximatelyless than 1%, of these five million slots and the region occupied by thetime-frequency slots allocated to the user is shown using shaded slots240. The length of the analysis interval may be adjusted depending on atime of day, a day of week, a day of month, a season, location of mobiledevice, and/or an expected population change within a geographic area.

The shaded slots 240 may have a measure of “goodness” associated withthem. For example, a mobile device may auto-report a channel-qualityindicator (CQI) every several time-slots and an average of the CQIs maybe taken over a five-second interval to serve as a goodness-indicator.If the call fails within the five-second interval then thegoodness-indicator may be low. The mobile device may also report one ormore of other quality indicators, such as a received signal strengthindicator (RSSI), a bit error rate (BER), a number of packetretransmissions, a signal to noise ratio (S/N), a number of callfailures, a user feedback, a user requested power-down at the samebit-rate, and/or a user requested power-up. One or more of these qualityindicators may be used for computing “goodness” of a time-frequencyslot.

FIG. 2B illustrates example spectral allocation analyses performed forvarious locations of mobile users, arranged in accordance with at leastsome embodiments described herein.

As shown in diagram 250, the time-frequency slot based allocation(analyses 246) may be repeated for various locations of mobile devicesor units of geographic grid. In some example embodiments, the units ofgeographic grid may be based on longitude 242 and latitude 244. Othercoordinate systems may also be employed in other examples. Thus, eachanalysis interval may correspond to a particular unit of geographic gridin the network and the units of geographic grid may also be defined withdifferent granularities for different analysis intervals (e.g. afraction of a downtown city block during the day vs. the whole block atnight).

FIG. 3A illustrates the labeling convention for spectral allotments,arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

As shown in a diagram 300, a time-frequency slot within a mobile networkmay be defined by plotting time 332 against frequency 334. A predefinedtime period (e.g., a day, a week, a month, etc.) may be divided intounit analysis intervals 338 (e.g., seconds, minutes, days, etc.) torepresent time. Similarly, available frequencies (or channels) within anetwork bandwidth 336 may be used to form cells of a grid definingtime-frequency slots. Spectral allotments may be determined for a givenuser and associated with a “goodness” indicator value for eachparticular time-frequency slot. For labeling spectral allotmentspurposes, the top-left time-frequency slot is Slot 1 and thebottom-right is Slot N 340, where N is the total number oftime-frequency slots in the analysis interval.

Wireless transmission conditions may be stable for a few seconds,therefore the 24-hour day may be divided into five-second analysisintervals and each interval may have millions of time-frequency slots,for example. A mobile network's geographical area may also be dividedinto a geographic grid. The geographic grid may be of any shape andinclude multiple units. According to one example, a unit of thegeographic grid may be 5 meters by 5 meters. Sizes of the dividedgeographical area may be adjusted depending on whether the area isdensely or sparsely populated, depending on a communication technologyof the wireless network, and/or depending on a selected frequency ofcommunication. The size may be further adjusted based on a time of day,a day of week, a day of month, a season, and/or an expected populationchange within a geographic area. The base station may record the time ofday and the mobile device's location (e.g., latitude and longitude). Thebase station may further allocate a time-frequency slot to the mobiledevice using a presently available scheduler. Shaded slots, as shown inFIG. 2, may represent the allocated time-frequency slots may be labeledas shown in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3B illustrates an example transformation of a time-frequency slotto a vector, arranged in accordance with at least some embodimentsdescribed herein.

As shown in a diagram 350, a time-frequency slot within a cellularnetwork may be defined by plotting time 332 against frequency 334. In anexample scenario, a 24-hour day may be divided into five-second analysisintervals 338 to represent time and available frequencies within usablebandwidth 336. Using the labeling convention described in FIG. 3A, theallotted time-frequency slots may be described as a time-frequencyvectors associated with locations (predefined geographic areas withinthe network's coverage area such as unit areas of 5 m by 5 m or othersizes). The time-frequency vectors in return may be grouped as clusters352 and 354. In cluster 352, the allotted time-frequency slots 356 maybe represented by the shaded slots [2, 9, 10, 14, 21, 30], and incluster 354, the allotted time-frequency slots 358 may be represented bythe shaded slots [4, 8, 17, 21, 23, 26]. The shaded slots[2-9-10-14-21-30] may be allocated at the beginning of the analysisinterval. Following allocation, traffic data may fill these slots astime unfolds.

Once a time-frequency vector is included in a cluster, a determinationmay be made whether the time-frequency allocation is satisfactory or notin terms of user-experience through mobile device/user feedback. Forexample, one or more of the following events may have taken place: amobile device may have requested a power-down at a same bit-rate; amobile device's CQI sequence may average to a high number; and/or a callmay have ended smoothly and a user may have indicated that he/she washappy. In this scenario, the allotted time-frequency slot for thatuser's location (the time-frequency vector) may be labeled as “good.” Inanother example, one or more of the following events may have takenplace: a mobile device may have requested for increased transmit power;a mobile device's CQI sequence may average poorly; and/or user feedbackmay indicate dissatisfaction. In this scenario, the allottedtime-frequency slot for that user's location (the time-frequency vector)may be labeled as “bad.” An indication from the mobile device that thesub-carrier allocation is unacceptable may be received by the mobiledevice's network, which may switch to a default sub-carrier allocationto improve quality. The network may then forward a “bad” qualityindication associated with the unacceptable sub-carrier allocation to ananalysis server.

Millions of wireless connections may be made and completed over timeallowing a cluster of “good” vectors and “bad” vectors to form for eachanalysis interval and each location. A suitable machine learningalgorithm like support vector machine (SVM) and/or neural network maythen be used to define the “good” vectors from the “bad” vectors.Sufficient training may be completed so that when allocating spectrumfor the next wireless connection, the base station may choose atime-frequency vector deep within a “good” cluster (e.g., a cluster witha majority of good time-frequency vectors) and allocate a time-frequencyslot associated with the vector chosen. Such a time-frequency slot maybe termed the required spectral allocation.

In some examples, the training may be continuous. A “good”time-frequency vector may be chosen and deployed, but the resultingallocation may continue to be assessed and may be relabeled “good” or“bad”. As training develops, the assessment criteria may likely continueto report “good”, but there may be statistical chance that theassessment criteria belies the selection of the time-frequency vector.Wireless transmission conditions may also vary with time. For example,new buildings may be constructed that alter the multi-path profile.Therefore, each transmission, even after training has matured, may serveas a useable data-point.

Various example embodiments are described above using specific values,parameters, and configurations. These examples are for illustrationpurposes only and are not intended to constitute a limitation onembodiments. Embodiments may be implemented with any reasonable valuesand suitable parameters and configurations using the principlesdescribed herein. For example, the discussed grid measurements forlocation ranges or time ranges may include any suitable values dependingon network, mobile device numbers, geographic area, communicationtechnology, etc.

FIG. 4 illustrates a general purpose computing device, which may be usedto implement predictive spectral allocation in wireless networks usingsupport vector machines, arranged in accordance with at least someembodiments described herein.

In a very basic configuration 402, computing device 400 typicallyincludes one or more processors 404 and a system memory 406. A memorybus 408 may be used for communicating between processor 404 and systemmemory 406.

Depending on the desired configuration, processor 404 may be of any typeincluding but not limited to a microprocessor (μP), a microcontroller(μC), a digital signal processor (DSP), or any combination thereof.Processor 404 may include one more levels of caching, such as a levelcache memory 412, a processor core 414, and registers 416. Exampleprocessor core 414 may include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), afloating point unit (FPU), a digital signal processing core (DSP Core),or any combination thereof. An example memory controller 418 may also beused with processor 404, or in some implementations memory controller414 may be an internal part of processor 404.

Depending on the desired configuration, system memory 406 may be of anytype including but not limited to volatile memory (such as RAM),non-volatile memory (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) or any combinationthereof. System memory 406 may include an operating system 420, one ormore communication applications 422, and program data 424. Communicationapplication 422 may include an analysis module 426 that may receive andanalyze indicators associated with the sub-carrier allocations and anSVM module 427 which may define and categorize clusters oftime-frequency vectors with “good” and “bad” indicators. Then, thecommunication application 422 may utilize a multiple access technologysuch as frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequencydivision multiple access (OFDMA), Carrier-Sense Multiple Access (CSMA),or a narrow band allocation technology to enable communication between abase station and mobile device regarding quality of sub-carrierallocations. Program data 424 may include one or more of analysis data428 (e.g. quality of allotted time-frequency slots, etc.) and similardata as discussed above in conjunction with at least FIG. 1 through 3.This data may be useful for predicting spectral allocation as isdescribed herein. This described basic configuration 402 is illustratedin FIG. 4 by those components within the inner dashed line. Computingdevice 400 may be implemented as a server in a wireless communicationnetwork or as part of a base station in such a network.

Computing device 400 may have additional features or functionality, andadditional interfaces to facilitate communications between basicconfiguration 402 and any required devices and interfaces. For example,a bus/interface controller 430 may be used to facilitate communicationsbetween basic configuration 402 and one or more data storage devices 432via a storage interface bus 434. Data storage devices 432 may beremovable storage devices 436, non-removable storage devices 438, or acombination thereof. Examples of removable storage and non-removablestorage devices include magnetic disk devices such as flexible diskdrives and hard-disk drives (HDD), optical disk drives such as compactdisk (CD) drives or digital versatile disk (DVD) drives, solid statedrives (SSD), and tape drives to name a few. Example computer storagemedia may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removablemedia implemented in any method or technology for storage ofinformation, such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data.

System memory 406, removable storage devices 436 and non-removablestorage devices 438 are examples of computer storage media. Computerstorage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flashmemory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD)or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other mediumwhich may be used to store the desired information and which may beaccessed by computing device 400. Any such computer storage media may bepart of computing device 400.

Computing device 400 may also include an interface bus 440 forfacilitating communication from various interface devices (e.g., outputdevices 442, peripheral interfaces 444, and communication devices 466 tobasic configuration 402 via bus/interface controller 430. Example outputdevices 442 include a graphics processing unit 448 and an audioprocessing unit 440, which may be configured to communicate to variousexternal devices such as a display or speakers via one or more A/V ports442. Example peripheral interfaces 444 include a serial interfacecontroller 444 or a parallel interface controller 446, which may beconfigured to communicate with external devices such as input devices(e.g., keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device,etc.) or other peripheral devices (e.g., printer, scanner, etc.) via oneor more I/O ports 448. An example communication device 466 includes anetwork controller 460, which may be arranged to facilitatecommunications with one or more other computing devices 462 over anetwork communication link via one or more communication ports 464.

The network communication link may be one example of a communicationmedia. Communication media may typically be embodied by computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other datain a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism, and may include any information delivery media. A “modulateddata signal” may be a signal that has one or more of its characteristicsset or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal.By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may includewired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, andwireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), microwave,infrared (IR) and other wireless media. The term computer readable mediaas used herein may include both storage media and communication media.

Computing device 400 may be implemented as a portion of a physicalserver, virtual server, a computing cloud, or a hybrid device thatinclude any of the above functions. Computing device 400 may also beimplemented as a personal computer including both laptop computer andnon-laptop computer configurations. Moreover computing device 400 may beimplemented as a networked system or as part of a general purpose orspecialized server.

Networks for a networked system including computing device 400 maycomprise any topology of servers, clients, switches, routers, modems,Internet service providers, and any appropriate communication media(e.g., wired or wireless communications). A system according toembodiments may have a static or dynamic network topology. The networksmay include a secure network such as an enterprise network (e.g., a LAN,WAN, or WLAN), an unsecure network such as a wireless open network(e.g., IEEE 802.11 wireless networks), or a world-wide network such(e.g., the Internet). The networks may also comprise a plurality ofdistinct networks that are adapted to operate together. Such networksare configured to provide communication between the nodes describedherein. By way of example, and not limitation, these networks mayinclude wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wirelessmedia. Furthermore, the networks may be portions of the same network orseparate networks.

FIG. 5 illustrates a special purpose processor, which may be used toimplement predictive spectral allocation in wireless networks usingsupport vector machines, arranged in accordance with at least someembodiments described herein.

Processor 590 may be part of a control system of base stations 550through network(s) 510 for predicting spectral allocation in mobilenetworks. Processor 590 may also communicate with data source 560storing network related information.

Processor 590 may include a number of processing modules such as ananalysis module 526 and an SVM module 527. Analysis data 528 and clusterdata 529 may be used by processor 590 in conjunction with the analysismodule 526 and the SVM module 527 to define and categorize “good” and“bad” clusters in mobile networks. Analysis data 528 and cluster data529 may be stored during processing in memory 591, which may be a cachememory of the processor 590 or an external memory (e.g., memory externalto processor 590).

Example embodiments may also include methods for providing spectralallocation in mobile networks. These methods can be implemented in anynumber of ways, including the structures described herein. One such wayis by machine operations, of devices of the type described in thepresent disclosure. Another optional way is for one or more of theindividual operations of the methods to be performed in conjunction withone or more human operators performing some of the operations whileother operations are performed by machines. These human operators neednot be collocated with each other, but each can be only with a machinethat performs a portion of the program. In other examples, the humaninteraction can be automated such as by pre-selected criteria that aremachine automated.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of instructions on a computer-readable mediumillustrating an example method for analyzing sub-carrier allocation datato categorize clusters for predictive spectral allocation in wirelessnetworks that may be performed by a computing device such as thecomputing device in FIG. 4 or the special purpose processor of FIG. 5,arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

An example method for performing predictive spectral allocation inmobile networks may begin with block 622, “DIVIDE A DAY INTO ONE OR MOREANALYSIS INTERVALS,” where a 24-hour day may be divided into one or morefive-second analysis intervals 238.

Block 622 may be followed by block 624, “DIVIDE A GEOGRAPHIC AREA OF AWIRELESS NETWORK INTO ONE OR MORE SLOTS”, where the area of a wirelessnetwork may be divided into one or more slots as discussed previously.

Block 624 may be followed by block 626, “DETERMINE A TIME-FREQUENCYVECTOR FOR EACH ALLOTTED TIME-FREQUENCY BASED ON AN ALLOTTEDTIME-FREQUENCY SLOT FOR A USER AND A SLOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE USERWITHIN EACH ANALYSIS INTERVAL”, where each allotted time-frequency slotmay be described as a vector 352 using the time 332, represented byanalysis intervals 338, frequency 334, measured using a mobile bandwidth336, and the geographic slot in which the user of the device is located.The shaded allotted time-frequency slots 356 within the allottedtime-frequency vector may be associated with a “goodness” indicatorvalue.

Block 626 may be followed by block 628, “COMPUTE A “GOODNESS” INDICATORVALUE BASED ON COMMUNICATION QUALITY FOR EACH TIME-FREQUENCY VECTOR”,where a “goodness” indicator for each analysis interval andtime-frequency vector may be computed and categorized into two or morecategories based on clusters of time-frequency vectors for each analysisinterval and associated location. The two or more categories may includea binary group of “good” and “bad” clusters. A support vector machine(SVM) algorithm and/or a neural network may be then be employed todefine and categorize clusters of time-frequency vectors with “good” and“bad” indicator values.

Block 628 may be followed by block 630, “ALLOCATE SPECTRUM BASED ON ATIME-FREQUENCY VECTOR SELECTED FROM A “GOOD” CLUSTER”, where a basestation may choose the time-frequency vector from the good cluster oftime-frequency vectors to allocate associated time-frequency slot to amobile device.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of instructions on a computer-readable mediumillustrating an example method for employing predictive spectralallocation in wireless networks using support vector machines that maybe performed by a computing device such as the computing device in FIG.4 or the special purpose processor of FIG. 5, arranged in accordancewith at least some embodiments described herein.

An example method for performing predictive spectral allocation inmobile networks may begin with block 722, “RECEIVE A REQUEST FORSUB-CARRIER ALLOCATION FROM A MOBILE DEVICE WITH A TIMESTAMP ANDLOCATION,” where a request for sub-carrier allocation from a mobiledevice 112, the request including a timestamp and a location of themobile device 112.

Block 722 may be followed by block 724, “IDENTIFY A GOOD CLUSTER BASEDON THE TIME STAMP AND THE LOCATION”, where a good cluster oftime-frequency vectors may be identified based on the timestamp and thelocation of the mobile device 112.

Block 724 may be followed by block 726, “SELECT A TIME-FREQUENCY VECTORFROM THE “GOOD” CLUSTER”, where the server or controller performing thespectral allocation may select a time-frequency vector from the “good”cluster for the mobile device 112.

Block 726 may be followed by block 728, “TRANSMIT SUB-CARRIER ALLOCATIONINFORMATION BASED ON THE TIME-FREQUENCY VECTOR TO THE MOBILE DEVICE”,where the server or controller may transmit the sub-carrier allocationinformation to the mobile device 112 through a base station 118.

The operations included in the processes of FIGS. 6 and 7 describedabove are for illustration purposes. Analyzing sub-carrier allocationdata to categorize clusters for predictive spectral allocation inwireless networks and employing predictive spectral allocation inwireless networks using support vector machines may be implemented bysimilar processes with fewer or additional operations. In some examples,the operations may be performed in a different order. In some otherexamples, various operations may be eliminated. In still other examples,various operations may be divided into additional operations, orcombined together into fewer operations. Although illustrated assequentially ordered operations, in some implementations the variousoperations may be performed in a different order, or in some casesvarious operations may be performed at substantially the same time.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer programproduct for implementing predictive spectral allocation in wirelessnetworks using support vector machines, arranged in accordance with atleast some embodiments described herein.

In some examples, as shown in FIG. 8, computer program product 800 mayinclude a signal bearing medium 802 that may also include machinereadable instructions 804 that, when executed by, for example, aprocessor, may provide the functionality described above with respect toFIG. 1. through FIG. 3. Thus, for example, referring to processor 590,one or more of the tasks shown in FIG. 8 may be undertaken in responseto instructions 804 conveyed to the processor 590 by medium 802 toperform actions associated with performing predictive spectralallocation in mobile networks as described herein. Some of thoseinstructions may include dividing a day into one or more analysisintervals, dividing a geographic area of a wireless network into one ormore slots, determining a time-frequency vector for each allottedtime-frequency slot based on an allotted time-frequency slot for a userand a slot associated with the user within each analysis interval,computing a “goodness” indicator value based on communication qualityfor each time-frequency vector, and allocating spectrum based on atime-frequency vector selected from a “good” cluster.

In some implementations, signal bearing medium 802 depicted in FIG. 8may encompass a computer-readable medium 806, such as, but not limitedto, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Versatile Disk(DVD), a digital tape, memory, etc. In some implementations, signalbearing medium 802 may encompass a recordable medium 808, such as, butnot limited to, memory, read/write (R/W) CDs, R/W DVDs, etc. In someimplementations, signal bearing medium 802 may encompass acommunications medium 810, such as, but not limited to, a digital and/oran analog communication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide,a wired communications link, a wireless communication link, etc.). Thus,for example, computer program product 800 may be conveyed to theprocessor 804 by an RF signal bearing medium 802, where the signalbearing medium 802 is conveyed by a wireless communications medium 810(e.g., a wireless communications medium conforming with the IEEE 802.11standard).

In some examples, various methods for employing predictive spectralallocation in wireless networks may be described. Example methods mayinclude receiving a request for sub-carrier allocation from a mobiledevice, the request including a timestamp and a location of the mobiledevice and identifying a good cluster based on the timestamp and thelocation. The methods may also include selecting a time-frequency vectorfrom the “good” cluster and transmitting sub-carrier allocationinformation to the mobile device, where the sub-carrier allocationinformation is based on the time-frequency vector.

In other examples, transmitting the sub-carrier allocation informationmay include transmitting a sequence of frequencies to be used inconsecutive time slots. The method may further include in response toreceiving an indication from the mobile device that the sub-carrierallocation is unacceptable, switching to a default sub-carrierallocation, and forwarding a bad quality indication associated with thesub-carrier allocation to an analysis server.

In further examples, identifying the good cluster based on the timestampand the location may include receiving information on device location,time slots, sub-carrier(s) allotted for each time slot, and qualityindicators from a plurality of mobile devices; grouping the time slotsby device location to form analysis intervals; identifying atime-frequency vector for each analysis interval, where thetime-frequency vector associates the analysis interval with the devicelocation; computing a goodness indicator for each time-frequency vector;and identifying one or more clusters of time-frequency vectors for eachanalysis interval and associated location as good clusters and badclusters.

In yet other examples, the method may include employing a machinelearning technique to identify clusters of time-frequency vectors withsubstantially similar “goodness” indicator value. Employing the machinelearning technique may include using one or more of a neural network, asupport vector machine (SVM), and a Bayesian algorithm. Receiving arequest may include receiving a request over a wireless communicationtechnology that utilizes a multiple access technology. The method mayalso include determining the time-frequency vector for one of a singlesub-carrier frequency or a group of sub-carrier frequencies.

In other examples, a controller for a wireless network configured toemploy predictive spectral allocation may be described. The controllermay include a communication module for communicating with a plurality ofmobile devices over a wireless network. The controller may also includea processor coupled to the communication module. The processor may beconfigured to receive a request for sub-carrier allocation from a mobiledevice, the request including a timestamp and a location of the mobiledevice. The processor may also be configured to identify a good clusterbased on the timestamp and the location, select a time-frequency vectorfrom the “good” cluster, and transmit sub-carrier allocation informationto the mobile device based on the time-frequency vector.

In some examples, the sub-carrier allocation information may include asequence of frequencies to be used in consecutive time slots. Theprocessor may also be configured to switch to a default sub-carrierallocation in response to receiving an indication from the mobile devicethat the sub-carrier allocation is unacceptable. The processor mayfurther forward a bad quality indication associated with the sub-carrierallocation to an analysis server.

In further examples, the processor may identify the good cluster basedon the timestamp and the location by: receive information on devicelocation, time slots, sub-carrier(s) allotted for each time slot, andquality indicators from a plurality of mobile devices; group the timeslots by location to form analysis intervals; identify a time-frequencyvector for each analysis interval, where the time-frequency vectorassociates the analysis interval with the device location; compute agoodness indicator for each time-frequency vector; and identify clustersof time-frequency vectors for each analysis interval and associatedlocation as good clusters and bad clusters.

In yet other examples, the processor may employ a machine learningtechnique to identify clusters of time-frequency vectors withsubstantially similar goodness indicator values. The machine learningtechnique may include one or more of a neural network and a supportvector machine (SVM) algorithm. A communication technology employed tocommunicate with the mobile device is a multiple access technology. Thecontroller may be part of a base station. A type of communicationbetween the controller and the mobile device may be one of datacommunication or audio communication. The wireless network may be anEvolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial RadioAccess Network (eUTRAN), a long term evolution (LTE) network, anLTE-Advanced network, a high speed packet access (HSPA) network, or anHSPA-Advanced network.

In further examples, a method for analyzing sub-carrier allocation datato categorize clusters for predictive spectral allocation in wirelessnetworks may be described. The method may include receiving informationon device location, time slots, sub-carrier(s) allotted for each timeslot, and quality indicators from a plurality of mobile devices;grouping the time slots to form analysis intervals; and identifying atime-frequency vector for each analysis interval, where thetime-frequency vector associates the analysis interval with the devicelocation. The method may also include computing a goodness indicator foreach time-frequency vector; identifying clusters of time-frequencyvectors; and categorizing the clusters of time-frequency vectors intotwo or more categories.

In some examples, categorizing the clusters into two or more categoriesmay include labeling the clusters as good clusters or bad clusters. Themethod may also include employing a machine learning technique toidentify the clusters of time-frequency vectors with substantiallysimilar “goodness” indicator values. The machine learning technique mayinclude one or more of a neural network and a support vector machine(SVM) algorithm. Computing the goodness indicator may include computingthe goodness indicator based on one or more of: a channel qualityindicator from the mobile device, a received signal strength indicator(RSSI), a bit error rate (BER), a number of packet retransmissions, asignal to noise ratio (S/N), a number of call failures, a user feedback,a user requested power-down at a same bit-rate, and/or a user requestedpower-up.

In other examples, the method may include dynamically adjusting a lengthof the analysis intervals based on one or more of a time of day, a dayof week, a day of month, a season, and/or an expected population changewithin a geographic area. The device location may be based on aplurality of units of geographic grid, and the method further mayinclude dynamically adjusting a size of each unit of geographic gridbased on one or more of whether the device location is in a denselypopulated area, whether the device location is in a sparsely populatedarea, a communication technology of the wireless network, and/or aselected frequency of communication.

In yet other examples, the method may include further adjusting the sizeof each unit of geographic grid based on one or more of a time of day, aday of week, a day of month, a season, and/or an expected populationchange within a geographic area. Receiving the information from aplurality of mobile devices may include receiving the information over awireless communication technology that utilizes a multiple accesstechnology. The method may also include determining the time-frequencyvector for a single sub-carrier frequency or a group of sub-carrierfrequencies. The method may include computing the goodness indicatorbased on a type of communication associated with a user.

In yet other examples, an analysis server for analyzing sub-carrierallocation data to categorize clusters for predictive spectralallocation in wireless networks may be described. The analysis servermay include a memory configured to store instructions and a processorcoupled to the memory. The processor may be configured to receiveinformation on device location, time slots, sub-carrier(s) allotted foreach time slot, and quality indicators from a plurality of mobiledevices; group the time slots by location to form analysis intervals;and identify a time-frequency vector for each analysis interval, wherethe time-frequency vector associates the analysis interval with thedevice location. The processor may also be configured to compute agoodness indicator for each time-frequency vector; identify clusters oftime-frequency vectors; and categorize clusters of time-frequencyvectors into two or more categories.

In some examples, the categories may include good clusters and badclusters. The processor may also employ a machine learning technique toidentify the clusters of time-frequency vectors with substantiallysimilar “goodness” indicator values. The machine learning technique mayinclude one or more of a neural network, a support vector machine (SVM),and a Bayesian algorithm. The processor may compute the goodnessindicator based on one or more of: a channel quality indicator from themobile devices, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a bit errorrate (BER), a number of packet retransmissions, a signal to noise ratio(S/N), a number of call failures, a user feedback, a user requestedpower-down at a same bit-rate, and/or a user requested power-up.

In other examples, the processor may dynamically adjust a length of theanalysis intervals based on one or more of a time of day, a day of week,a day of month, a season, and/or an expected population change within ageographic area. The processor may further dynamically adjust a size ofeach unit of geographic grid based on one or more of whether the devicelocation is in a densely populated area, whether the device location isin a sparsely populated area, a communication technology of the wirelessnetwork, and/or a selected frequency of communication. The processor mayalso further adjust the size of each unit of geographic grid based onone or more of a time of day, a day of week, a day of month, a season,and/or an expected population change within a geographic area.

In further examples, the communication technology of the wirelessnetworks may include frequency division multiple access (FDMA),orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or a narrow bandallocation technology. The processor may determine the time-frequencyvector for one of a single sub-carrier frequency or a group ofsub-carrier frequencies and compute the goodness indicator based on atype of communication associated with a user. The analysis server may bepart of a base station. The analysis server may receive the informationfrom the plurality of mobile devices via one or more base stations. Thewireless networks may include an Evolved Universal MobileTelecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access Network (eUTRAN), along term evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced network, a high speedpacket access (HSPA) network, or an HSPA-Advanced network.

In yet further examples, a computer-readable storage medium may bedescribed with instructions stored thereon for employing predictivespectral allocation in wireless networks, analyzing sub-carrierallocation data to categorize clusters for predictive spectralallocation in wireless networks, and conducting wireless communicationemploying a sub-carrier allocation from a base station, the instructionscausing one or more methods to be performed when executed. The methodsmay be similar to the methods described above.

There is little distinction left between hardware and softwareimplementations of aspects of systems; the use of hardware or softwareis generally (but not always, in that in certain contexts the choicebetween hardware and software may become significant) a design choicerepresenting cost vs. efficiency tradeoffs. There are various vehiclesby which processes and/or systems and/or other technologies describedherein may be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and/or firmware), andthat the preferred vehicle will vary with the context in which theprocesses and/or systems and/or other technologies are deployed. Forexample, if an implementer determines that speed and accuracy areparamount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardware and/or firmwarevehicle; if flexibility is paramount, the implementer may opt for amainly software implementation; or, yet again alternatively, theimplementer may opt for some combination of hardware, software, and/orfirmware.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments ofthe devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts,and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/orexamples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will beunderstood by those within the art that each function and/or operationwithin such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples may be implemented,individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software,firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment,several portions of the subject matter described herein may beimplemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), orother integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art willrecognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, inwhole or in part, may be equivalently implemented in integratedcircuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or morecomputers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computersystems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors(e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors),as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designingthe circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmwarewould be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light ofthis disclosure.

The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particularembodiments described in this application, which are intended asillustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations canbe made without departing from its spirit and scope, as will be apparentto those skilled in the art. Functionally equivalent methods andapparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to thoseenumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from theforegoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intendedto fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosureis to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along withthe full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It isto be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particularmethods, reagents, compounds compositions or biological systems, whichcan, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminologyused herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodimentsonly, and is not intended to be limiting.

In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that themechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capable of beingdistributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that anillustrative embodiment of the subject matter described herein appliesregardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium used toactually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearing mediuminclude, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable type mediumsuch as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a DigitalVersatile Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory, a solid statedrive, etc.; and a transmission type medium such as a digital and/or ananalog communication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, awired communications link, a wireless communication link, etc.).

Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common within the artto describe devices and/or processes in the fashion set forth herein,and thereafter use engineering practices to integrate such describeddevices and/or processes into data processing systems. That is, at leasta portion of the devices and/or processes described herein may beintegrated into a data processing system via a reasonable amount ofexperimentation. Those having skill in the art will recognize that atypical data processing system generally includes one or more of asystem unit housing, a video display device, a memory such as volatileand non-volatile memory, processors such as microprocessors and digitalsignal processors, computational entities such as operating systems,drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs, one ormore interaction devices, such as a touch pad or screen, and/or controlsystems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback forsensing position and/or velocity of gantry systems; control motors formoving and/or adjusting components and/or quantities).

A typical data processing system may be implemented utilizing anysuitable commercially available components, such as those typicallyfound in data computing/communication and/or networkcomputing/communication systems. The herein described subject mattersometimes illustrates different components contained within, orconnected with, different other components. It is to be understood thatsuch depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact manyother architectures may be implemented which achieve the samefunctionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components toachieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that thedesired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components hereincombined to achieve a particular functionality may be seen as“associated with” each other such that the desired functionality isachieved, irrespective of architectures or intermediate components.Likewise, any two components so associated may also be viewed as being“operably connected”, or “operably coupled”, to each other to achievethe desired functionality, and any two components capable of being soassociated may also be viewed as being “operably couplable”, to eachother to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples ofoperably couplable include but are not limited to physically connectableand/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactableand/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logically interactingand/or logically interactable components.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one”or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articlesused to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specificnumber of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should beinterpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the barerecitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, means at leasttwo recitations, or two or more recitations).

Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “atleast one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a constructionis intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understandthe convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C”would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone,C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A,B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those withinthe art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting twoor more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, ordrawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities ofincluding one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. Forexample, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include thepossibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are describedin terms of Markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individualmember or subgroup of members of the Markush group.

As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and allpurposes, such as in terms of providing a written description, allranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subrangesand combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easilyrecognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range beingbroken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths,tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein canbe readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third,etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all languagesuch as “up to,” “at least,” “greater than,” “less than,” and the likeinclude the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequentlybroken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will beunderstood by one skilled in the art, a range includes each individualmember. Thus, for example, a group having 1-3 cells refers to groupshaving 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, a group having 1-5 cells refers togroups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells, and so forth.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, otheraspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes ofillustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scopeand spirit being indicated by the following claims.

1. A method to employ predictive spectral allocation in wirelessnetworks, the method comprising: receiving a request for sub-carrierallocation from a mobile device, the request including a timestamp and alocation of the mobile device; identifying a particular cluster based onthe timestamp and the location; selecting a time-frequency vector fromthe particular cluster; transmitting information pertaining to thesub-carrier allocation to the mobile device, wherein the information isbased on the time-frequency vector; and in response to receiving anindication from the mobile device that the sub-carrier allocation isunacceptable, switching to a default sub-carrier allocation andforwarding a bad quality indication associated with the unacceptablesub-carrier allocation to an analysis server.
 2. The method according toclaim 1, wherein transmitting the information comprises transmitting asequence of frequencies to be used in consecutive time slots. 3-4.(canceled)
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein identifying theparticular cluster based on the timestamp and the location comprises:receiving information on device location, time slots, sub-carrier(s)allotted for each time slot, and quality indicators from a plurality ofmobile devices; grouping the time slots by device location to formanalysis intervals; identifying a time-frequency vector for eachanalysis interval, wherein the time-frequency vector associates theanalysis interval with the device location; computing a goodnessindicator for each time-frequency vector; and identifying one or moreclusters of time-frequency vectors for each analysis interval andassociated location as good clusters and bad clusters.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: employing a machine learningtechnique to identify clusters of time-frequency vectors withsubstantially similar “goodness” indicator value.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 6, wherein employing the machine learning techniquecomprises using one or more of a neural network, a support vectormachine (SVM), and a Bayes classifier.
 8. The method according to claim1, wherein receiving the request comprises receiving the request over awireless communication technology that utilizes a multiple accesstechnology.
 9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:determining the time-frequency vector for one of a single sub-carrierfrequency or a group of sub-carrier frequencies. 10-20. (canceled)
 21. Amethod to analyze sub-carrier allocation data to categorize clusters forpredictive spectral allocation in a wireless network, the methodcomprising: receiving information on device location, time slots, atleast one sub-carrier allotted for each time slot, and qualityindicators from a plurality of mobile devices; grouping the time slotsto form analysis intervals; dynamically adjusting a length of theanalysis intervals based on one or more of a time of day, a day of week,a day of month, a season, the device location, and/or an expectedpopulation change within a geographic area; identifying a time-frequencyvector for each analysis interval, wherein the time-frequency vectorassociates the analysis interval with the device location; computing agoodness indicator for each time-frequency vector; identifying clustersof time-frequency vectors; and categorizing the clusters oftime-frequency vectors into two or more categories.
 22. The methodaccording to claim 21, wherein the categorizing the clusters into two ormore categories comprises labeling the clusters as good clusters or badclusters.
 23. The method according to claim 21, further comprising:employing a machine learning technique to identify the clusters oftime-frequency vectors with substantially similar values of goodnessindicators, wherein the machine learning technique includes one or moreof a neural network, a support vector machine (SVM), and a BayesClassifier.
 24. (canceled)
 25. The method according to claim 21, whereincomputing the goodness indicator comprises: computing the goodnessindicator based on one or more of: a channel quality indicator from themobile device, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a bit errorrate (BER), a number of packet retransmissions, a signal to noise ratio(S/N), a number of call failures, a user feedback, a user requestedpower-down at a same bit-rate, and/or a user requested power-up. 26.(canceled)
 27. The method according to claim 21, wherein the devicelocation is based on a plurality of units of a geographic grid, and themethod further comprises: dynamically adjusting a size of each unit ofthe geographic grid based on one or more of whether the device locationis in a densely populated area, whether the device location is in asparsely populated area, a communication technology of the wirelessnetwork, and/or a selected frequency of communication.
 28. The methodaccording to claim 27, further comprising: further adjusting the size ofeach unit of the geographic grid based on one or more of the time ofday, the day of week, the day of month, the season, and/or the expectedpopulation change within the geographic area.
 29. The method accordingto claim 27, wherein receiving the information from a plurality ofmobile devices comprises receiving the information over a wirelesscommunication technology that utilizes a multiple-access technology.30-31. (canceled)
 32. An analysis server to analyze sub-carrierallocation data to categorize clusters for predictive spectralallocation in a wireless network, the analysis server comprising: amemory configured to store instructions; a processor coupled to thememory, the processor configured to execute the instructions to performor cause to be performed: evaluate information on device location, timeslots, at least one sub-carrier allotted for each time slot, and qualityindicators received from a plurality of mobile devices; group the timeslots by location to form analysis intervals; dynamically adjust alength of the analysis intervals based on one or more of a time of day,a day of week, a day of month, a season, and/or an expected populationchange within a geographic area; identify a time-frequency vector foreach analysis interval, wherein the time-frequency vector associates theanalysis interval with the device location; compute a goodness indicatorfor each time-frequency vector; identify clusters of time-frequencyvectors; and categorize clusters of time-frequency vectors into two ormore categories. 33-37. (canceled)
 38. The analysis server according toclaim 32, wherein the processor is further configured to execute theinstructions to perform or cause to be performed: dynamically adjust asize of each unit of a geographic grid based on one or more of whetherthe device location is in a densely populated area, whether the devicelocation is in a sparsely populated area, a communication technology ofthe wireless network, and/or a selected frequency of communication. 39.The analysis server according to claim 38, wherein the processor isfurther configured to perform or cause to be performed: further adjustthe size of each unit of the geographic grid based on one or more of thetime of day, the day of week, the day of month, the season, and/or theexpected population change within the geographic area.
 40. The analysisserver according to claim 38, wherein the communication technology ofthe wireless network are one of frequency division multiple access(FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or anarrow band allocation technology.
 41. The analysis server according toclaim 32, wherein the processor is further configured to perform orcause to be performed: determine the time-frequency vector for one of asingle sub-carrier frequency or a group of sub-carrier frequencies. 42.The analysis server according to claim 32, wherein the processor isfurther configured to perform or cause to be performed: compute thegoodness indicator based on a type of communication associated with auser.
 43. The analysis server according to claim 32, wherein theanalysis server is part of a base station.
 44. The analysis serveraccording to claim 32, wherein the analysis server is configured toreceive the information from the plurality of mobile devices via one ormore base stations.
 45. The analysis server according to claim 32,wherein the wireless network is one of an Evolved Universal MobileTelecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access Network (eUTRAN), along term evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced network, a high speedpacket access (HSPA) network, or an HSPA-Advanced network. 46-47.(canceled)